Visiting Georgie Cartanza’s poultry farm was very interesting and eye opening. We learned how she is able to manage four chicken houses that grow up to 148,000 chickens total. They are grown organically and are the broiler type of chicken. Her farm produces over 5,000,000 pounds of poultry per year and that can feed up to almost 60,000 people for a full year. Technology has allowed farmers to have much more control of the environment to ensure that the chickens are as comfortable as possible. They can control the temperature, the water supply, and the feed supply through a central computer system and they can also monitor the houses for any changes and shortages. This allows farmers to raise more chickens that are more comfortable and reduce costs. Georgie Cartanza’s chickens are organically grown so they are antibiotic free by the time they are sent to the processing plant and they are also hormone and steroid free. It was interesting to see how all the doors of the chicken houses were open but it was rare to see any more than two chickens outside at a time. They also would not stay outside very long and would go back inside only after several minutes at the most.
Category Archives: Field Trips-Tours
GEORGIE’S ORGANIC POULTRY FARM
Class field trip to Georgie’s poultry farm.
On Saturday September 22nd, 2018 we went on a trip to Georgie Cartanza’s organic broiler farm in Dover, Delaware. We started the visit by sitting outside of the houses and listening to Georgie talk about her broiler farm and told us about the work she does to keep it going smoothly. After she told us about her farm we had to put on disposable coveralls, plastic booties, and hairnets to prevent us from bringing in any unwanted diseases. Once we all had them on we went into one of the chicken houses that still had chickens in it. It was interesting seeing the differences in this house compared to the one I had been in when I was in elementary school since it didn’t have all the advances in caring for chickens as this one had. Inside of the chicken house was 37,000 chickens and it didn’t have a bad scent in it since there is a ventilation system installed that keeps the air moving and helps keep the chicken house cool. Some of the technology she has in her chicken house to care for the chickens are nipple waterers, gravity powered feeders, and a control room where she can monitor and manage the environmental conditions in the chicken house. She also mentioned that she can access the information on her phone so she knows what’s going on in the chicken house even when she isn’t on the farm. After seeing the chicken house with all the chickens in it we got to see an empty one that they were getting ready to clean. In it were some chickens that didn’t get picked for processing and they will be humanely euthanized and placed into an ecodrum for compost. The ecodrum is a more efficient way of composting since it aerates the material by rotating it. It was an amazing trip since this was my first time seeing an organic broiler farm and getting to see the new technology they use to care for the chickens. I also had the opportunity to hold a chicken and had my picture taken. Thank you, Gerogie Cartanza for giving us a tour of your farm.
On the Chicken Trip- Visiting a House Full of Organic Cluckers
You’ve probably seen the long, low chicken houses that seem to be along every two lane road in Delaware. You’ve probably smelled them driving by, and then rolled up your windows. On Saturday we went and visited Georgie Cartanza’s poultry farm in Dover. Ms. Cartanza, who gave a us a lecture not too long ago, has been in the industry for over 25 years. Starting off as a flock supervisor withPerdue she’s worked many different jobs in the industry before deciding to start producing broilers herself. With four 65’x600’ chicken houses, Georgie produces over 5 million pounds of USDA approved organic broilers. Each house took about $1.5 million to get up and running. Chicken houses aren’t state of the art architecturally but the technology in them is. The cooling system can cycle air through a length of 2 football fields in under a minute, that’s faster than we walk and does a good job with eliminating the smell, and that’s just the cooling system!
Being on the farm and standing in the chicken house was a very cool sight. In our funny looking “marshmallow suits” (pictured)as some students called them we went in the houses. The suits are for bio-security and to protect the birds from us and anything we could spread to the poultry. Upon entering the chicken house, the birds closest to the door got up and walked off to find a different place to lay around. Being an organic chicken house along the sides of the house were doors so that the chickens could wander in and out as they pleased, but the birds tend to prefer to be inside we noticed. While we were there was about 5 chickens that came outside, the flock size in a chicken house 37,000.
Poultry Farm Tour Field Trip
On September 22nd 2018 the entire AGRI 130 class was very fortunate to go on their first field trip of the 2018 fall semester. The field trip took place at a poultry farm in the Dover area of Delaware. The tour was given by former guest speaker Georgie Cartanza. She started the tour by giving us an ample amount of mind blowing facts. For example the buildings that held all the chickens were 600 feet long by 65 feet wide each and she had four buildings on this particular poultry farm. She then shared with us that each building contained 37,000 chickens per house for a total of 148,000 chickens. The average age of the chickens was 7 weeks old with an average weight of 6.5 pounds. Thankfully she did the math for us and told us that it comes out to around 913,900 pounds per flock or 5,000,000 pounds of chicken a year. This sounded like an insanely large number at first, but then Georgie put it into perspective by telling us that the average person eats 83.6 pounds a year. The we walked through the buildings and see the chickens. Overall this was a good field trip and I am glad I was able to experience it.
Poultry Farm Tour
I was very sad to not be able to attend the field trip to see Georgie Cartanza’s poultry operation. I think it would have been very interesting to see how her operation ran and looked, compared to my poultry operation back at home. After hearing about the field trip I thought it was really cool how Georgie kind of fell into the poultry industry, after working for Perdue. Today, it seems like a lot of producers/farmers usually go into the industry because of family ties. So it was cool to hear that. Also, it was really interesting hear that her one piece of advice for someone who wanted to enter the poultry industry was to take business classes. This particularly stuck out to me because in trying to decide my post high school plans, it was the fact that many farmers in my area strongly encouraged a business education before returning to the farm. So it was really cool to hear that Georgie also recommends this and that it is an important thing to have. Those two pieces of the field trip were what stuck out to me the most. Despite not actually being there, it sounded like Georgie runs a top notch operation!
Georgie Catanza’s Poultry Farm
On this field trip our class had some prior knowledge to the poultry industry from Georgie’s guest lecture, but going to her farm and seeing the actually process is the best way to learn something in my personal opinion. I have experienced chicken farms all throughout my life and have had the opportunity to go into to chicken houses multiple times, but never have I seen the chickens at 8 weeks of age getting ready to leave the farm. This is one reason I really enjoyed this field trip because I had the chance to see the chickens at full age and better understand what they look like and how they act when they are full grown. I also learned a little more about the process of disposing of the mortality and I had the chance to learn about how much liter 4 houses produce a year. The ecodrum that Georgie invested in to compost her dead chickens I thought was very interesting and efficient. Then coming from a family farm where we spread around 1000 tons of chicken manure a year I thought it was interesting to learn how much her chicken houses actually produce, which showed me how many chickens are needed for my families farm production needs. Overall I thought Georgie’s farm was top quality and really enjoyed the first saturday field trip.
Poultry Farm Fieldtrip Hosted by Georgie Cartanza
On Saturday, September 22nd the class went on a field trip to the the Cartanza organic chicken farm. The experience was helpful in gaining a real-life look at how a poultry farm operates. To start, Georgie Cartanza gave us a brief overview of the production process and structure. The chickens on this particular farm stay on location for five weeks. During this time, they are preparing for the end stage of the production, processing. When the time comes to ship out the birds, it takes approximately five hours to catch each house. The workers do this by hand because it is the most efficient, stress-free option for the chickens.
The Cartanza family grows for Coleman, an organic integer that is apart of the Vertical Integration system. Raising organic birds is much different than conventional routes. First off, all chickens must have access to the outside. While we were on site, you could see approximately 15 hatches that lead outdoors. Consumers like the idea of their protein seeing the light of day, but in reality few birds seek the outdoors. In addition to outdoor access, organic farmers provide ‘toys’ for their animals. These objects help in keeping the chickens happy and entertained throughout their stay in the houses.
The visit to the Cartanza poultry house was very educational and entertaining. With that, I cannot wait what we will learn on our next field trip!
Poultry Farm Tour September 22
Touring the poultry farm of Georgie Cartanza was so fun, even if it didn’t smell too good! It was really interesting seeing the chicken houses and learning about how an organic chicken farm was run. The most interesting thing that I learned was that the dead birds are actually composted and then the compost is sold to a local vegetable farm! It makes complete sense, but the thought never crossed me that most of the dead birds get composted; it’s really good though because there isn’t any waste and the bird gets made into something useful for the soil. There is 1 ton/ 1000 chickens/ flock of manure that is made as well that also gets sent to a dairy farm to be used as fertilizer. The biggest cost to an organic poultry farm is actually the feed cost which gets imported from Turkey and Argentina. I love how Georgie isn’t uneducated about organic and nonorganic and understands how to use various methods to sustain her farm while making money and doing what she believes in.
Field Trip to Georgie’s Farm
On Saturday (9/22), we went on our first field trip to Georgie Cartanza’s poultry farm. From growing up on a farm I knew a little about raising poultry for consumption. On my neighbors farm where he grew broilers we had two watering stations for 20-30 birds and a box fan that was lifted off the ground to help regulate the temperature of the birds. But to be able to have an insight of it from a much larger standpoint like Georgie’s farm was a great experience to be a part of. What I didn’t know is how much more time, money, and research that goes into having a big poultry farm like hers. This includes everything from ways to compost the dead birds by also helping the environment, having mechanical/ gravity fed feeders and watering stations that are able to be raised up to the ceiling to have access to the birds when catching, and even having the ability to access a control panel that is linked to her phone to tell her what the temperature is of each of the houses. One of the most fascinating things that I found out was that when the birds are getting ready to be loaded into the creates to be brought to the processing plants, the workers who load the birds still have to catch them by hand. And when catching they are usually able to grab 3-4 birds per hand. I that’s what my brother, my neighbor, and myself do when we’re getting ready to prep the birds for slaughter. I figured with all of the technology we have today there would be a much faster and easier way to catch each of the 148,000 birds that Georgie has instead of doing it by hand. Another thing that is nice to know is that the poultry industry is a huge influence for the community. Georgie was saying that for every one job in the poultry business it creates seven jobs within the community which I thought was great. And we also had the opportunity to meet Georgie’s dog!
Georgie Cartanza ~ Poultry Farm
When we had arrived at Mrs. Cartanzas poultry farm on Saturday the 22nd, she had given us an overview on the poultry industry and what made her want to go into the industry itself. For Georgie to put her chicken houses up it cost 1.5 million dollars to just put them up, thats not including any of the other things she needed to keep her houses up to par. Georgie had invested in something called an eco drum to help with her farm. This eco drum is a more effective way to take care of manure, with this drum it has decreased her risk of bio-security by a lot. Georgie had said that she has a big list of new things she would like to invest in for her farm which included solar panels this of course will be after she pays off her chicken houses. She also plans to use these chicken houses to help pay for her childrens college education.Georgie had told us about how chickens are such and economic impact, the value of birds sold are at $3.2 billion dollars. The annual feed bill is $997 dollars this includes, 85.4 billion bushels of corn and 35.5 billion bushels of corn.
I would like to thank Georgie for the amazing time at her poultry farm, she definitely showed me the major differences between organic and conventional and she answered all of my unanswered questions. 
Organic Poultry Farm Field Trip with Georgie Cartanza
On a sunny Saturday in September, the AGRI 130 students travelled to Georgie Cartanza’s broiler farm in Dover Delaware. We started the experience by sitting outside of the houses and learning about organic farming, broiler production, and other poultry related concepts. Then we put on disposable coveralls, plastic booties, and hairnets. My fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to step inside one of Cartanza’s chicken houses and see what a USDA organic certified poultry farm looks like. Organic chickens are fed organic feed, are antibiotic free, and are given access to an outdoor area, and other special accommodations. Despite there being 37,000 chickens within the house, it did not smell bad because of the ventilation system installed. Industrial fans are used to circulate air through the house. The house is also equipped with nipple waterers, gravity powered feeders, and a control room to monitor and manage the environmental conditions within the house. The broilers start life in the center of the house on starter feed. As they get older, more of the house is opened until the birds have the run of the whole area. After eating starter feed, the chickens are given two different grower feeds and a finisher feed. Once the chickens are ready to be processed, they are collected by hand at night. This reduces the stress level of the flock. The individuals not picked up for processing are humanely euthanized and placed into the ecodrum for compost. An ecodrum is a plastic structure that aerates and rotates compost material to aid in the decomposition process. The manure produced at Cartanza’s farm is collected, stored in manure sheds, and sold to a local dairy farmer as fertilizer. The processes used for compost and waste management is a piece of the nutrient management plan for the farm. The plan is implemented to ensure that the farm practices are not negatively impacting the environment. At the end of the tour, I had the opportunity to hold a chicken and have my picture taken. Thanks to Georgie Cartanza for giving AGRI 130 students an opportunity to visit her farm.
Delaware as a Food Shed- Ed Kee
Delaware’s former secretary of agriculture Ed Kee visited our class and shared with us some valuable information regarding the work he has done throughout his career. His lecture kept my attention because he was once a student in the same classrooms in Townsend Hall that we are all in and eventually had the ability to share his knowledge from UD with the world in countries such as Ukraine. His words were inspiring and introduced me to a lot of things I was unaware of about Delaware and the world. Kee referred to Delaware as a food shed because we are an eight hour drive from 1/3 of the entire Unites States population. That statistic alone was enough to get me thinking about how important the Delaware agriculture system is and how the work we are doing and the knowledge we are obtaining now is going to have an impact on future generations to come.
Georgie’s Poultry Farm
Class Field Trip 9/22/18
My visit to Georgie Cartanza’s farm was certainly an educational experience. I value the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to hear Georgie lecture to my sorority last year, as well as coming into our class for a guest lecture. Having the background knowledge of the poultry industry before the field trip was really worthwhile. I love that Georgie is so passionate about educating and agvocating, especially to students. I also love how Georgie describes her career as a journey. It’s comforting to see someone who is driven by their passion for their industry, and who has become very successful in doing so.
Being a food science student, I always look at the industry through a food safety lens. I thought it was incredible that it’s standard to suit up before entering the chicken houses in order to keep the birds safe. Something that also stuck out to me is how expensive a chicken house is to put up. It seems daunting especially for young farmers to make the choice to take the risk of getting into the industry. I also commend Georgie for always striving to better herself and her farm. I can’t say that this trip has changed my mind about exploring a career in the poultry industry, but I certainly learned a lot and understand why people like Georgie love what they do.
Poultry Farm Field Trip
Growing up heavily involved in 4-H, I have been on my fair share of farms. However, the trip we took to Georgie’s organic poultry farm was entirely new to me. It was amazing to see the five house farm and the insides of the hen houses. I was shocked to see how clean, smooth and hands-off the whole process was. Despite the fact that the hen houses are only entirely cleaned annually, the inside was far tidier than I had imagined. I also found it amusing that due to consumer demands and society’s perception of poultry farms, all organic productions are required to allow the chickens outside; and yet, the hens have absolutely no interest in leaving the houses. Perhaps the most interesting part was that Georgie does what she can to keep her farm as environmentally friendly as possible. She composts all of the deceased chickens, either traditionally or by using an eco drum. The eco drum cost every bit of $50,000 and is a more environmentally sensitive way of disposing of the chickens. Furthermore, she hopes to invest in solar panels in the future, which would not only help the environment, but her finances as well, potentially cutting her electric bill that is currently about $35,000. All in all, the visit to Georgie’s farm was a highly educational experience that I enjoyed very much.
Last but not least: University of Delaware’s Research Farm
As a pre-veterinary student I felt as though I knew all there was to know about the amazing research farm we have here on campus. Every semester so far I have had a few classes down on South campus and if I wasn’t directly on the farm for class, I got to smell it! Even though I had seen the dairy farm, Webb farm and the poultry houses prior to this field trip I learned so much about what goes on at each of these facilities. Scott Hopkins, University of Delaware’s farm superintendent, took us around and went in depth about experiments both successes and failures, different classes that are offered on the farm to target non-agriculture students, new technology that’s been included in each facility to help advance research, management practices and so much more! Even though it’s a close runner-up playing with the calves wasn’t my favorite part of this field trip. Scott Hopkins shared a ton of information with us about the research farm and I took a lot away from it that I can’t wait to share with others but if there was one thing overall that I took away from this trip is, there is always more to learn! I went into this field trip thinking I was going to know everything he talked about and I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself amazed with all of the new things I learned about the farm after the field trip was over! 